[Machine] By it, his life and that of Uthman were prolonged. So when I became the caliph, I saw that they were struggling. Muhammad ibn Sirin informed me that he had asked Ubaydah about that, and he said, "Which one of them do you love more?" I said, "The opinion of Umar and Ali together is more beloved to me than the opinion of Ali alone, when they disagreed."
بِهَا عُمَرُ حَيَاتَهُ وَعُثْمَانُ ؓ بَعْدَهُ فَلَمَّا وُلِّيتُ أَنَا رَأَيْتُ أَنْ أَرِقَّهُنَّ قَالَ فَأَخْبَرَنِي مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ سِيرِينَ أَنَّهُ سَأَلَ عُبَيْدَةَ عَنْ ذَلِكَ فَقَالَ أَيُّهُمَا أَحَبُّ إِلَيْكَ قَالَ رَأْيُ عُمَرَ وَعَلِيٍّ ؓ جَمِيعًا أَحَبُّ إِلِيَّ مِنْ رَأْيِ عَلِيٍّ ؓ حِينَ أَدْرَكَ الِاخْتِلَافَ